Hydraulic actuators may be generally used to move, for instance, a boom of a construction machine, such as an excavator. The hydraulic actuator may include a cylinder barrel configured to reciprocally receive a piston rod having at least one end extending out of the cylinder barrel. For example, the cylinder barrel may be fixedly attached to, for instance, a superstructure of an excavator, and the piston end extending out of the cylinder barrel may be connected to, for instance, the boom of the excavator. By supplying hydraulic fluid into the cylinder barrel, the piston rod may be urged out of the cylinder barrel, thereby moving the boom into a desired position.
It is also known to provide the piston rod end extending out of the cylinder barrel with a thread disposed circumferentially about the piston rod end. The threaded piston rod end may, then, be screwed into a connecting element including a thread configured to screwable receive the piston rod end, thereby forming a preassembled arrangement. Then, for example, a clevis may be attached to the preassembled arrangement via at least one screw radially arranged around the connecting element. As the head of the piston rod contacts the bottom of the clevis, a gap between the clevis and the connecting element may be formed. However, the gap may be required for applying a pre-stressing force onto the thread of the piston rod end, thereby ensuring that the thread may not get loosened during operation.
Further, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,611 B1 discloses a connecting piece which can be pivotally connected both to a jib of an excavator and to a setting cylinder connected to the jib, and which is intended for linking up a tool, such as an excavator bucket, for example, to the end of the jib.
The present disclosure is directed, at least in part, to improving or overcoming one or more aspects of prior systems.